Relationship Status Update: Operation Mistletoe
by Zoinks81
Summary: It's been a little over a year since Kat and Lincoln became friends. Now during the Christmas season Kat has decided to test the waters and see if Lincoln is ready to be more. But what if Lincoln is not ready? Will Kat get what she wants this Christmas?


**Well I promised a Kat and Lincoln Christmas special and here it is people. This is the final of the Katcoln trilogy. So lets get to it.**

* * *

 **Relationship Status Update**

 **Operation Mistletoe**

 **By Zoinks81**

Kathrine Carmin, or Kat as she liked to be called by her friends, stood in front of her locker. She twisted the black nob, putting in her combination, jiggled the handle twice (because it often got stuck) and gave a firm yank. The auburn metal door opened with a jolt, and Kat placed her books in the locker. She had just gotten out of history class, one of her favorite classes. She had loved history as long as she could remember, collecting many books on the various eras and dynasties throughout the ages. Though that was not why history was her favorite class. It was her favorite for two reasons. The first was that the teacher, Mrs. Glass, was a wonderfully exciting woman. She taught class with a lively enthusiasm that made Kat wonder if she was at one time an aspiring actress. She would often bring in props or do voices, all to turn her class into a whole production to both entertain and teach her students. Kat loved every minute of it.

The second reason she loved history class was because it was the only time, other than lunch, when she got to see Lincoln Loud at school. Lincoln and her had been, what they had dubbed "friendating" for a little over a year now. It all started with a spilled milkshake and a comic book. From that moment she knew there was something special about that white haired boy. It was only confirmed later when they spent that day in the park and talked about being friends, taking things slow. She agreed, but in her mind and in her heart she had made it official. He was hers. He owned her heart from the moment he smiled and bought her that lunch at Burpin' Burger. Over the past year she had tested the waters with him and their budding relationship, holding hands, cuddling up when they watched a movie together, and evening kissing him on the cheek. He did not seem to mind any of it, and of course his sisters loved it.

Lincoln had ten sisters that loved to meddle in his love life. At times, it bothered him, but he seemed to welcome it a little more as of late. He told her it was because they had calmed down, going from a full-blown sister tornado to just giving him bits of advice and helping him clean up his appearance when he was going to hang out with her. Though he also confided in her that he wanted to enjoy as much time as he could with them, knowing that it was getting closer to the days when they would not see each other as much. It was already starting to happen with his two oldest sisters, Lori and Leni. Lori had moved out to the garage with her boyfriend Bobby, she did not know much, just that he had a falling out with his family and moved back to town. Apparently Bobby and Lincoln's dad had a long talk, and Lincoln's dad had agreed to let Bobby rent out the garage until he could get enough money to find his own place. Not too long after that Lori had moved in with him. Kat was surprised that their father was so open to his daughter living with her boyfriend in their garage. She was pretty sure her dad would crap bricks if she asked to do that with Lincoln.

Lincoln's second oldest sister, Leni, had gone off to college, getting into the college for creative studies in Detroit. It was not that far off, only about an hour or two away, but it was still a change that the family had some trouble getting used to. They had spent so much time being a family of thirteen under one roof, that now that they were starting to part ways, it was a difficult change. That made Lincoln want to spend a bit more time with his sisters, which also meant that Kat was spending time with them. Coming from a family where she was an only child, it was a bit of an adjustment to say the least. Yet, spending most of her life wishing she had sisters of her own, she loved every moment that she got to know them. Thankfully they all seemed to really like her as well. Though she knew that Lori was still secretly holding out hope that Ronnie Anne would come back and her and Lincoln would get back together. Kat didn't like that, but she tried to let it slide as she knew that was just because Lori had a special place in her heart for Ronnie, what with her being Bobby's little sister and all.

Kat shut the door to her locker and began her walk towards the gym. Normally she would dread gym class, not being a huge fan of having to run around the building or that dirt track in the back of the school. Thankfully the December weather had delivered some fresh white powder, and Mr. Cobb was not a fan of snow. So until the snow melted they would be in the gym playing volleyball or basketball. Of course with winter break just a few days away, she was hoping for a free period to just hang out and talk with her friends. Kat had gym class with Jordan Taber and Cassie Pearson, or Haiku as she preferred to be called.

Kat walked down the hall towards the gym, catching sight of her friends waiting for her by the entrance to the gym. Jordan had her light brown hair pulled back into a braid that fell just past her shoulders. She dressed in her favorite yellow shirt, which sported the pink face of a cartoon style cat on it. She also had on a pair of blue denim jeans, which had small horizontal rips going down her thighs and knees. Haiku, ever the goth, had traded in her Elvira like gown she once wore, for a short sleeve purple button up shirt with black skull for buttons. Her shirt was was tucked into a pair of black jeans with a studded black leather belt sporting a purple metal skull as the buckle. This outfit was brought together with heavy boots, black lace finger less gloves, and dark make up. Haiku loved to say that she dressed the way she did to scare away people she didn't want to talk to anyways, but Kat sometimes wondered. The girl was starting to develop in certain areas, making her tops cling a little more to her frame. Some days there was even cleavage, garnering attention from a number of boys. Kat had even caught Lincoln staring a few times. She let it go with just an exhausted look and shake of her head, knowing that most men were powerless when in the presence of boobs.

"Hey." Kat said, approaching her friends.

"Hey." Jordan said.

"Greetings." Haiku said with an emotionless tone.

They entered the gym and gathered with the rest of the students, awaiting Mr. Cobb's instructions. He would either tell them to hit the lockers and change into their gym clothes, or he would let them stay dressed as they were and just hang around the gym to do what they wanted. After a few minutes the tall middle-aged man walked out from his office at the opposite side of the gym. He was wearing his red and white track suit, the colors of the school, with a red baseball cap that covered his balding head. He grabbed a cart filled with balls of all sorts of colors, and pushed it to the center of the gym. _Great_ , Kat thought, _fricking dodge ball_.

"Alright people." Mr. Cobb said in a deep and commanding voice, to get everyone's attention on him. "Show of hands, who wants to hit the lockers and change, then come out and play dodge ball?" He looked around and counted only five hands out of twenty-six kids. "Fine, then we will have a free day since we are so close to winter break." There was a collective sigh and few scattered claps of approval. "Feel free to use the balls to play if you want. Or just play with your phones and chat with each other, I don't really care."

Mr. Cobb walked back towards his office, where he could sit and play on his computer while still keeping an eye on the kids in the gym. Kat assumed he was going to check on his fantasy football team. Her dad often did that as well, always cursing under his breath whenever one of his players got hurt or was just playing like crap. She wondered if Mr. Cobb cussed and threatened to through his computer or phone against the wall as well.

The group of students split and scattered. Some of them chose to walk around the gym and talk, while a few took a couple of balls out and through them against the wall, catching them. Kat, Jordan, and Haiku decided to go and take a seat in the bleachers. None of them felt like walking or playing, they were cold, tired, and ready for winter break.

"I was hoping we would get a free day." Kat said.

"I wish I could take credit for this." Haiku said. "But alas I was unable to get a strand of Mr. Cobb's hair for my spell."

"Probably for the better." Jordan said. "He doesn't have much left to spare anyways."

Kat and Jordan laughed, with Haiku letting out a slight smile.

Kat was still getting used to hang around Haiku. She liked her, and had even been able to get her to drop her goth guard a few times. She was just not used to being around someone who hardly ever laughed or talked about such grim and dark things as Haiku did. She remembered Haiku from elementary school, though they never exactly hung around in the same circles. Most of her time there she was with the popular kids, the ones that would make fun of kids like Haiku. Thankfully that all changed when she stopped hanging out with those kids and started to make friends with kids like Jordan, Lincoln, and Clyde. She often looked back on who she used to be and was ashamed of herself. She was a jerk. That could have been the main reason why she stepped up and helped Haiku that first day of middle school.

Haiku was being picked on by a group of popular girls, teased and called all kinds of nasty names. Kat and Jordan went over and told the girls to get lost, even getting in the face of the leader of the little group, Kat had promised to rearrange her pretty face if she didn't leave Haiku alone. The girls eventually backed down, walking away but still saying some pretty nasty things, this time about Kat and Jordan. Kat wanted to go after them and make good on her promise, but Jordan and Haiku held her back and managed to calm her down. She was cool with people making fun of her friends, and was very protective of Jordan. After that day, Haiku had been adopted into Kat's ever growing circle of new friends.

"So what are you guys planning on doing during the break?" Kat asked.

"I'm hoping my parents will take me skiing." Jordan said. "We didn't get to go last year, so I really want to do it this year."

"Lucy and I plan on watching A Nightmare Before Christmas." Haiku told them. "Then we will attempt to communicate with the spirits."

"Sometimes you scare me." Jordan said, getting a smile from Haiku. "What about you?" She asked Kat.

Kat looked to her shoes and debated about telling her friends her plans. She knew Jordan would freak out, and she was unsure as to how Haiku would react. She knew that Lincoln took Haiku to a dance once, and things did not go so well, but they had seemed to end up on friendly terms. Still, a part of her wondered if there were any lingering feelings left on Haiku's part. She doubted it, thinking it was more that jealous side of her that liked to kick up trouble in her brain. She sighed and decided it was better to just tell them.

"I'm going to finally get a real kiss from Lincoln and make things between us official." She said, pausing and waiting for the ear shattering scream from Jordan.

"Because we are in public right now." Jordan said, her tone very calm and deliberate. "And I know Mr. Cobb would make be run outside in the snow, I will hold my scream for later. But I'm warning you, you will want to get some heavy-duty ear plugs."

"Noted." Kat laughed.

Kat noticed that Haiku had not said a word or even formed a smile or frown. She looked like she was frozen, almost like she was in total shock. Was she right? Did Haiku still hold some feelings for Lincoln? "Haiku?" Kat asked. "You ok with this?"

Haiku turned and slightly frowned. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking."

"You don't still like him do you?" Kat asked, her concern growing.

"No." Haiku said flatly. "He is nice, but not my type. And we never really went out, it was one dance and it was only a favor for Lucy." Haiku tried to reassure her friend. "My concern is for you."

Kat exchanged puzzled looks with Jordan.

"I fear what will happen if he is not ready to advance your relationship beyond what you both are now." Haiku said.

Kat had indeed worried about that as well. She knew Lincoln wanted to take things slow, but a year of tip toeing around the edge of dating seemed slow enough for her. She knew what she wanted that day in the park, and she had spent the last year dreaming about his lips on hers. All she wanted for Christmas this year was a real kiss from Lincoln Loud. Sure she worried about how he felt, if he was ready or not. Though she knew, when it came to love, sometimes you had to risk it all. And Kat was pretty sure that she was falling in love with Lincoln.

"Gotta take the chance." Kat told her friend.

"Then I hope it all works out for you." Haiku said, a small smile on her face.

"So how do you plan on doing it?" Jordan asked.

"I was thinking the winter festival." Kat told them. It was the most romantic thing she could think of. She remembered her parents once talking about how it was often called the festival of love, as many couples had either met or gotten engaged there over the years.

The winter festival was an annual event held the weekend before Christmas. It was like a fair, with rides and games and lots of food. They had roaming bands of carolers who sang every Christmas song known to man, as well as tree decorating competitions and a petting zoo. If it snowed, then there would be snowball fights and snowman building races, as well as sledding. Kat was never that big into the festival, but it was either that or take him out for a fancy dinner. She thought the festival seemed a little more in tune with the season, and was a lot cheaper. She had spent most of the money she saved up for Christmas presents. Thankfully she was not at the point where she would have to buy gifts for Lincoln's sisters yet, that would probably require a small loan.

"I thought we could play some games, maybe go on a ride or two, and get something to eat." She told them. "Then we would get some hot chocolate and go on a nice sleigh ride, where I would pull out some mistletoe, then plant one right on his lips." She said with a smile and slight blush.

"I love it." Jordan said, working hard to contain a squeal. "Sounds romantic."

"Disgustingly romantic and festive." Haiku said. "I think it's very cute."

"Thank you." Kat said.

"If you tell anyone I said that I will put a curse on you."

* * *

Baby it was cold outside. Damn cold. Lincoln Loud could see his breath, which he was puffing out in clouds as he was pretending to blow smoke from an imaginary cigarette. He was starting to lose feeling in his face. Of course that was because he did not dress for walking home, he was wearing a jacket, his orange and black heavy coat, but failed to bring his hat, gloves, or a nice scarf. Of course, he would have brought all of that if he would have known that Bobby would be the one picking him up from school. The Santiago boy, and current tenet of the Loud house, was helping out the family by picking up the kids at school while Lori picked up an extra shift at Aloha Comrades. That would not have been a problem if not for the fact that Clyde, the best friend that he did not hold hands with and kiss on the cheek, was avoiding both of them. The original plan was for Luna to come and get them, since she was borrowing Chunks van while he was out of town for the week. Of course something came up, that being Luna forgot to gas up the van which was now parked in front of Sam's house. So here he was, freezing his butt off, while waiting for his friend to come out so they could walk in the bitter cold. Merry friggin Christmas.

Clyde McBride walked out the front doors of the school dressed like a big blue stuffed animal. His thick glasses stuck out of the hood that was pulled tight around his head, and the over stuffed blue coat he wore puffed out, making him look like that girl from Willy Wonka, the one that blew up like a balloon and had to be rolled out of the room. The image of Clyde being rolled down the street popped into Lincoln's head, making him chuckle to himself. Even at thirteen years old, Clyde's dads still worried about him, being the overprotective parents that tried their little Clyde as if he were made of porcelain or something. Lincoln assumed they would have been there themselves to pick them up if they were not both at work.

"Hey buddy." Clyde greeted Lincoln as he waddled over like a fat penguin. He tried like hell to keep his balance, knowing that falling over would make him look like a turtle, stuck on he back until help or death arrived.

"Dude you gotta get over your beef with Bobby." Lincoln said. "My face is frozen and I'm tempted to wet myself just to feel warmth in my legs again."

"First, that is disgusting." Clyde told him. "Second that would not work. The brief moment of warmth would soon be followed by the pee and wet pants freezing to your leg. It would only make things work."

"If I could move any part of my face right now, I would scowl at you." Lincoln said. "Just-just imagine me scowling at you right now."

Clyde started to waddle off, with Lincoln closely following him. Clyde did not hate Bobby, he was simply annoyed with Lori's boyfriend, the emotional wounds of their little talk over the summer still fresh in his mind and heart. After Bobby came back and moved into the garage at the Loud house, he got a job working with Flip. Flip needed someone to help around the store after he suffered from a heart attack during the spring. Bobby had spent the past few years working with his uncle in his bodega before the falling out with his family. He knew his way around a store, and the welcome addition of a friendly face had helped boost business.

One day, while taking out the trash, Bobby had seen a few kids hassling Clyde, nothing new as Clyde was still an easy target for the bullies. Bobby walked over and told the kids to leave him alone or he would make them eat the nacho cheese that Flip soaked his feet in. The boys took off in a flash. Clyde was of course happy for the help, but did not like the fact that his rival for Lori's heart was the one to rescue him. Bobby gave Clyde a free Flippee and sat him down for a little talk. He told Clyde that he needed to move on, to stop living in this fantasy world where he was going to end up with Lori. Bobby told him that he was jealous, and that if there was anyone else out there for Lori, he would want it to be him. He said that both Lori and him were worried about Clyde. They didn't like that their friend was passing up chances to be happy with other girls, girls that were out there that would love to be his girlfriend. Bobby told Clyde that he thought he was a great guy, and that any girl would be lucky to have a loyal and awesome dude like him. All he had to do was just had open his eyes and realize they were out there waiting for him.

Clyde felt the anger in him rising, pissed at what Bobby was telling. Though he hated the fact that deep down he knew that the Santiago boy was right. He knew that he had no shot with Lori, there was a seven-year gap between them. She would have to wait until he was sixteen before they could even do anything. That was asking a little much of any girl, let alone one as amazing as her. He also knew that he was just too much of a nerd to land a girl like Lori. As Biggie would say, it was all a dream. Still, it was a dream that made him happy, and for a sheltered kid who had to see a psychiatrist two times a week, anything that made him happy was worth holding on to. Right? His heart wanted to hold on to the dream like a torch to ward off the cold darkness that enveloped his heart, but his head knew better. So he tried to move on from Lori, but that was not going to be easy. He was not ready to be around either of them yet. Which unfortunately meant that days like this would happen. Days when he would have to walk in the bitter cold, but thankfully not alone.

"I'll get over my deal with Bobby eventually." Clyde told his friend. "But just because I don't want to be around him right now, that doesn't mean you have to pass up a ride."

'What kind of friend would I be if I let you walk home in the cold alone?" Lincoln asked.

"A warm one."

"Touche'."

They walked down DiMaggio street until they were out of sight of the school. With each step Lincoln's boots crunched in the snow then kicked up a white cloud of fresh frosty powder. Thankfully he thought to where his boots today, his shoes did very little to protect his socks and feet from getting wet or cold. Like his buddy Marco said, in some countries wet socks were a form of torture. A sharp wind blew, slashing across his face and making Lincoln think a few four letter words that his parents would probably be upset that he knew. Most of them he learned from Luna and Lynn.

"You heard from Ronnie Anne lately?" Clyde asked.

"Nope."

Lincoln and Ronnie Anne had remained friends for a little while after she moved. Then she found out about Kat, which he knew would happen sooner or later. He of course, did not see the big deal since he was not actually dating Kat, they were just friends. But of course, that was what he had said about her for a long time as well, and everyone knew they were not far off from being a couple. Still, she did not take it well, and the video chats came a lot less frequently. After that things had gone off the rails with her family. Bobby and Ronnie's mother had started to date a guy that no one other than her seemed to like. From what Lincoln could gather, he was kind of a bum, jumping from job to job, and blowing a lot of his money on booze and online poker. Lincoln was surprised to find out that his friends mother would go for a guy like that. Bobby told him it was because he seemed really cool at first, then he started to let his guard down, changing after she had already fallen for him. The family tried to tell her he was no good, but that just made her mad, driving her to leave and get an apartment away from them. Bobby decided he could not deal with it, stuck between his family and also missing Lori. He decided to leave and come back to Royal Woods, even offering to bring Ronnie Anne with him. Ronnie Anne probably would have come if not for Kat, at least that was what Lincoln thought, but she decided to stay with her mother. That was when the calls and texts stopped all together. All that time Lincoln had assumed that she was cool with being just friends, apparently he was wrong and she still had feelings for him.

"Think she will ever get over it and be ok with you and Kat?" Clyde asked.

"Think you will ever get over Lori and stop being mad at Bobby?"

"I'm working on it. But it's going to take time." Clyde said flatly.

"I assume it's the same for her." Lincoln told his friend. "Not much I can do really, she didn't want to do the long distance thing either, and we were never official anyways."

"Yeah I know, I just kind of feel for her." Clyde said.

"I know man." Lincoln said. "I miss her as a friend, and I hate that she is going through all this drama with her family. And that I can't be there to help her through it."

They turned down Thorton street and crossed towards the park. Just across from the park was a shopping center with a number of little shops, among them a little coffee shop called Pot of Gold. They stopped in to get some hot chocolate and get out of the cold for a few minutes. They took their drinks as Clyde paid for both, feeling obliged since his friend gave up a nice warm car ride home. They took a seat near the window and watched as the clouds outside stated to gather and swell with either rain or snow. Lincoln was almost sure it would be snow.

"So how come Kat isn't walking with us today?" Clyde asked.

"Besides it being too cold, she said she had to go with her parents to get some stuff." Lincoln said, blowing on his hot chocolate before taking a sip.

"You guys seem like you are getting to be more than just friends." Clyde teased.

"I'm starting to think that you might be my eleventh sister man." Lincoln joked.

"They bugging you with questions?"

"Questions, advice, and they keep dressing me up and spraying me with cologne." Lincoln told him. "And I hate the stuff they spray with me." The thought of his sisters made him think about how things were changing around the house. "But I would rather have them around to do it, then not have them around."

His thoughts drifted to Leni. How his sister was off in school and not long at home with the rest of her family. Sure she was only a few hours away, but it sometimes felt like she was living clear across the world. It was a hard adjustment to make, going from Leni being there every day to all of sudden not being there except on some weekends and holidays. Though he was not taking it nearly as hard as Lori and Lisa were. He was pretty sure that was the main reason Lori moved out to the garage with Bobby, because she didn't like sleeping in a room without her best friend there. He was surprised that their dad let Bobby stay with, then was ok with Lori moving in with him. When he asked his dad he simply told him that Bobby was good guy, and they were old enough make their own decisions. Lincoln knew there was more to it, he just didn't really feel the need to look any further into it.

Lisa appeared to be affected by Leni's absence as well. She tried to hide it, spending a lot of time locked away in her lab when she was not playing with Darcy. Lincoln knew that Lisa had grown close to her older sister. The two had spent a lot of time in the lab, and had also just liked to hang out from time to time. He knew that Leni was an important figure around the house, he just did not know how so until she had left. Lincoln could tell that it was really starting to hit everyone that the days were coming where they would start to see less and less of each other. It was a bitter-sweet feeling, growing up but also growing apart.

"Well?" Clyde asked.

"Well what?"

"You going to answer the question or play dumb?"

"Do I ask about your love life?" Lincoln said after sipping at his drink.

"What love life?" Clyde scoffed. "When I get a love life please inquire away."

Lincoln laughed, but also felt bad for his friend. Kat had told him that she knew of at least two girls they went to school with who thought Clyde was cute. Yet he spent all of his time fawning over his sister, or he did. Now he was nursing a broken heart, a bruised ego, and showed no interest in trying to pick up the pieces and move on. He sincerely hoped that Clyde would heal soon so he could find someone to help him nurse his heart back to health.

"I don't know what we are really." Lincoln said. "I like Kat a lot, and I know she has some pretty strong feelings for me."

"What's holding you back from taking this thing to the next level?"

"Fear." Lincoln said. "Fear of messing things up. There are like a million "what if's" running through my head. What if I want to and she doesn't? What if we go for it and things suddenly go wrong with us? What if I am passing up a lot of different chances with different girls?" Lincoln suddenly looked away from his friend, afraid of the look he would get after saying that last one. He knew it was messed up, but it was true. There were a lot of girls out there, and he was just starting to get more comfortable being around them.

"Hey I get it man." Clyde said. "Your young, not even in high school yet. You got your whole life ahead of you. And it's probably scary thinking about all of that. But in the end you got to ask yourself if it's scarier thinking about a future without her."

Of course Clyde was right. A future without Kat was scary as well. They had gotten so close as of late, and she helped ease his mind when thoughts of his sisters leaving, or when doubts about his future plans would enter his mind. She had a very calming effect on him, and she had this way of making him feel like he could take on the world. Even Ronnie Anne couldn't do that. She was special, and he was going to have to decide what he was going to do before it was too late. Choose the future, or let the future choose him.

* * *

It was December 23rd and the clouds had followed through on a promise to deliver fresh snow. The Royal Woods winter festival had started on Friday and was going all the way up until Christmas Eve. Each year it was held on the outskirts of town, near where all the farms were located. The town officials gathered each year and appointed a comity to decide a theme and get things prepared. Then they would set up booths and rides and a petting zoo with animals borrowed from local farmers. Every year they would set all of this up in the same place, an open field just past the Pines farm off of Lonesome Polecat lane. For up to four days the festival would go on, starting with the decorating of a giant Christmas tree, and ending with its lighting. For close to forty years, kids had listened to how their parents and grand parents had either met and fell in love or got engaged at the Royal Woods winter festival. Lincoln and his sisters had heard how their mothers parents had met at the festival, only for Pop-Pop to later pop the question a few years later at the festival. Everyone except for Lucy had all thought it was incredibly sweet and romantic. Though the queen of goth secretly loved it, she just liked putting on a demeanor of disgust at the cute story.

Kat and Lincoln sat in the back of Vanzilla next to Leni, who was home from school for the holidays. Leni had gotten a ride from her roommate, who also had family in Royal Woods. Leni had finally gotten a license, barely passing the written test, but was still without a car. Bobby, taking Vanzilla since it would have been impossible to fit all the kids into his and Lori's jeep. Lori sat in the passenger seat next to her boo boo bear, with Lucy, Lisa, and the twins in sitting behind them. Behind them was Lynn, Luan, and Luna. Kat wanted to bum a ride from her parents, but Lincoln's sisters insisted on joining them, saying they wanted to enjoy the festival as well. Though Kat was pretty sure they just wanted to spy on them, hoping to see if they would finally kiss, which would result in an eye piercing squeal from them

Once Bobby found a spot to park, everyone got out of the van and made their way to the entrance. The festival grounds were fenced off with a white wooden fence painted to look like icicles that connected to an archway of faux snow dusted with glitter. After paying the entrance fee and getting their hand stamped by a sour looking teenager dressed as an elf, they walked in and looked out at all the tents and booths scattered around the snowy field. In the center of the festival was a large Ferris wheel, the metal framed painted and decorated to look like candy canes pieced together. To their left was a group of carolers singing Let it Snow to a group of families while a little girl dressed like Elsa danced and clapped with excitement. Lincoln couldn't help but think the whole thing looked pretty damn cute.

They made plans to split up and meet back later for lunch at Misses Claus Kitchen. The twins took Lily and followed a trail of signs that pointed towards a petting zoo. The youngest Loud had spent the past few months saying how she wanted to pet one of Santa's reindeer, and Lana and Lola were determined to make it happen. Luna wondered off to meet up with Sam, hoping to get her girlfriend to join her for a romantic ride on the Ferris wheel. Lori and Bobby went to find a booth to enjoy some hot chocolate and ginger bread cookies. Leni, Lisa, Lynn, and Lucy all decided to practice for the annual Loud House snowball fight. This left Kat and Lincoln alone.

"So what do you want to do?" Lincoln asked.

"I feel like you should win me something." Kat said. "I want something white and fuzzy to cuddle with at night."

Lincoln blushed and scratched the back of his head, letting a small sheepish smile creep across his face. Kat took his hand and led him towards the section where all the games had been set up. There were rows of booths with various carnival style games, from ring tosses to that one where you spray water in a clowns mouth until the balloon pops. Of course with it being a winter festival the clown was replaced with Rudolph, the goal being to inflate his shiny red nose. Kat found a booth with stuffed animals that hung along the top in an attempt to entice people passing by. Kat was indeed tempted as she saw a cute little stuffed polar bear that reminded her of the boy she dragged behind her. They approached the booth, finding a cute couple dressed like ginger bread people. The man, a bit heavy set and balding, and the woman, a blonde with curly hair and thick rimmed glasses, smiled and welcomed them.

"Oh that polar bear is so cute." Kat said. "Kind of reminds me of someone." She turned and winked, making Lincoln blush even more.

"Step right up young man, and win your little girlfriend that stuffed polar bear." The heavyset balding man said.

Lincoln looked at the game, which seemed simple enough. All he had to do was toss a few white bean bags that looked like snowballs into a few holes. The distance was not that far, and he figured he could make the shot with ease. He slapped a dollar on the counter and picked up three bean bags. He tossed the first and missed, the bag catching on the edge and getting hung up. Tossed the second and missed again, this time the bean bag simply slapped against the wooden wall. Lincoln could feel his face getting red with frustration and embarrassment. He tossed the last one and missed again, the bag once again getting hung up. He suddenly felt a wave of relief that his sister Lynn was not standing near him. He could almost hear her snicker and groan at missing such an easy shot.

"Ah shucks kid, that's just too bad." The heavyset balding man smiled. It was a mocking smile meant to taunt the white haired boy into spending more money.

Lincoln reached into his pocket and pulled out another dollar, slapping on the counter again. He shot the heavyset man an impatient look, waiting for him to fork over more 'snowballs'. Lincoln would be damned if he was going to not win his girl ... his friend a freaking stuffed polar bear. He had spent many hours with Lynn helping her with her batting and her pitching. He knew he could do this, he just had to stop thinking about it and let his muscle memory and instincts kick in.

Kat leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "For luck." She smiled.

That little peck sent a serge of confidence pumping throughout his veins. He sized up the game again and tossed a bean bag. Another miss. He sized it up again, tossed and missed. The smile on the heavyset mans face widened, thinking he found a new sucker to milk dry. The mans business partner, and possible wife, frowned. Lincoln looked to the man and smiled, turning back and tossing the final the bean bag into the hole.

"It only takes one." He said with a mocking grin as the heavyset man thrust the stuffed polar bear at him. Lincoln turned and handed it to Kat. "For you milady."

"My hero." Kat said, taking the stuffed toy.

Kat held the stuffed toy close to her chest, then suggested they go and find a booth to get some hot chocolate and frosted Christmas cookies. They wondered around until the found a stand advertising fresh baked cookies and hot chocolate. The got in line behind a woman in a pea soup green hooded parka with brown fur trim. She was holding her daughter in one arm while trying to keep her other daughter from making a break for it and running towards what thing the child could get her hands on. After standing in line for what seemed like hours, they got to the front. Behind a window was a woman dressed all in white. She leaned herself close to the tiny window and spoke through it.

"What can I get ya darlin'?" The woman asked.

Kat ordered for both of them, two hot chocolates with whipped topping, and two frosted sugar cookies. She paid and the woman leaned over and filled cups with powder and hot water, then topping them off with whipped cream she sprayed out from a can. She slid the cups across the counter then reached over to a rack and grabbed two cookies, handing them to Kat. With their drinks and snacks in hand, they walked over to a large tent that had been set up, which had rows of tables and chairs for people to sit and enjoy their food.

"Mmmm." Kat hummed as she bit into her cookie. "Christmas has the best snacks."

"Heh, I gotta go with Easter." Lincoln said.

"It's a good thing your cute." Kat giggled.

"Go home Kat, you're drunk." Lincoln joked.

Kat laughed and stuck her tongue out at Lincoln, who blew a raspberry back at her. Lincoln sipped at his hot chocolate, letting the hot liquid fill his insides and warm his very center. He loved winter, the snow was a lot of fun, and Christmas was a great holiday for family and presents. The cold, though, that he could live without, and no matter how many clothes he put on, he was still cold.

"So after this I was thinking we could maybe go on a carriage ride." Kat said.

"Hmmm." Lincoln mused as he stroked his chin. "That would get us away from my sisters."

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't noticed that they have been following us the whole time?" Lincoln asked.

Kat looked around the tent and suddenly noticed that at least five of his sisters were sitting at nearby tables, pretending to be invested in their own activities. Luna and Sam sat together and pretended to listen to music, sharing headphones. Leni and Lisa were also sharing headphones, though these appeared to be attached to a small listening device that the tiny genius had built. Lynn and Luan sat at another table, doing a terrible job at looking inconspicuous as they pretended to whistle.

"Well then I guess we are going to need to take that ride to get some privacy." Kat said.

"Guess so."

They finished their cookies and hot chocolate, then walked past the Ferris wheel towards the edge of the festival grounds. As they came up on a small booth manned by a woman bundled up in multiple heavy coats, a young woman bumped into them, first into Kat, then colliding with Lincoln.

"Oh my dear, are you ok?" The woman asked. "I am sorry." She said, helping Lincoln up, then walking off towards the center of the festival.

"Well I guess I should jealous." Kat said.

"Huh?"

"You got women throwing themselves at you."

Lincoln chuckled as he brushed the snow off of himself. They approached the booth, which was set up in front of a large red sleigh which was sitting behind a brown and white Clydesdale horse. Behind the booth was an old woman bundled up and sipping on cup of what smelled like hot cider. Kat bought a ticket then went over to the sleigh, helped up by a man in a long dark coat with a top hat to match. Lincoln could not help but think that he looked a bit like a Victorian villain preparing to do battle with Sherlock Holmes. Lincoln climbed up and sat down, with Kat scooting in close to him. The woman came around and pulled a heavy plaid blanket around their laps then handed them warm cups of cider. The Victorian villain gave a gentle tug and commanded the horse to move, making the sleigh move.

The sleigh went out on a trail through the woods, the path lined with tall pine trees dusted with snow. The trees towered over them like great green guardians of a mystical forest. Kat reached over and laced her fingers through Lincoln's, then rested her head on his shoulder. Her heart fluttered as she felt Lincoln wrap his arm around her. A lot had changed in her life over the past two years, some for the worse and some for the better. Lincoln was the best part of those changes. She felt right when he was around, like everything in her world was perfect, and her heart was filled with a warm sensation that she just knew was love. She was falling in with love him, and she wanted love him forever, until the end time. But she wanted him to love her as well. And there was only one way she was going to find out if he was ready or not.

Kat searched the pocket in her jacket, looking for the mistletoe she had gotten the day before. She dug her fingers around but could not feel the mistletoe anywhere. She dug deeper, her fingers feeling around every inch of the pocket, but failed to feel the leaf. She started to search her other pockets, not finding what she was looking for. Kat's heart sank, her plan was going up in flames, burning like a log on the fire. She began to panic as she wondered if she had dropped it earlier when they were walking around the festival. Then her mind went to the woman that bumped into her. She must have dropped it, or it fell out when the woman collided with her.

"You ok?" Lincoln asked, noticing that she was looking a bit frazzled.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I-I uh just seemed to have lost something." Kat said, a frown settling in on her face.

"Wanna stop?" Lincoln asked.

"No It's-It's nothing." Kat sighed.

"There's a spot just up ahead there." Lincoln told her. "We should stop."

Kat looked out to where Lincoln was pointing, to a clearing just off the path. In the middle of the clearing was a small metal picnic table with a red table cloth draped over it. Set atop the table was a wicker picnic basket. Kat looked to Lincoln, her brow furrowed as she tried to understand what was going on.

"What do you think, wanna stop for a little winter picnic?" Lincoln smiled.

The Victorian villain pulled back on the reigns, making the horse slow to a stop. Lincoln got out off the sleigh, then helped Kat off. They walked over to the picnic table, where Kat peeked into the basket, seeing some cheese and crackers and a bottle of sparkling apple cider.

"How did you know this would be here?" Kat asked, turning to Lincoln.

"Easy, I told my sisters to set it up." He smiled.

"You let your sisters meddle?"

"I figured they were going to anyways, might as well use it to my advantage." He chuckled.

"You know I had a plan." Kat said.

"Oh I know all about your plan." Lincoln said, getting a look from her. "One of the advantages of one of your friends being best friends with one of my sisters." He shrugged.

Kat did not know whether to be pissed or pleased with Haiku. Since things were going in her favor, she settled for pleased.

"If only I hadn't lost my mistletoe." Kat sighed.

"Oh you didn't lose it." Lincoln smiled. "Growing up with ten meddling sisters you have to learn to be pretty sneaky at times." Lincoln reached into his pocket and pulled out the mistletoe.

"You are a brat Lincoln Loud." Kat said with a smile. "A cute and sweet brat."

"There is a reason I call myself the man with a plan." He said.

Lincoln held the mistletoe over Kat, slowly leaning into her. Their lips lightly grazed each other, making Kat smile. Lincoln leaned in closer and pressed his lips to hers. He moved his hand around the small of her back and pulled her into him. As the kiss became more passionate, Kat's heart speed up and her head felt light, as if she were walking on air. Lincoln's lips tingled with electric passion as his heart beat like a jackhammer, pounding against chest. His soul vibrated and hummed a tune only angels could hear. He slowly pulled away, resting his forehead against hers.

"Well?" Kat whispered.

"Magical." Lincoln smiled.

"Damn straight." Kat smiled back.

"I guess this makes it official." Lincoln said. "My sisters are going to explode if they haven't already."

"You better be strong enough to catch me Lincoln Loud." Kat said, getting a perplexed look from Lincoln. "Because I am falling hard for you."

Lincoln smiled and kissed her again. In the distance the two could swear they heard ten girls squeal in unison.

 **End**

* * *

 **Well I hope you all enjoyed that one. It was a blast to write. Now this is not the last we have seen with Kat and Lincoln, they will return in the near future. I just have to finish planning out what is coming next.**

 **I also want to thank you all for reading. When I first wrote New Comic Day, it was supposed to be a one shot. There were no plans to go beyond that, and I was going to leave the fate of Kat and Lincoln up to you, the readers, to decide in your own imagination. But you all liked the story, the idea of these two, and a few of you bugged me to write more. Now here we are.**

 **There are two stories I want to finish up first before I get back to Katcoln and everything that is happening in that universe.**


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